1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments relate to systems and methods for providing streaming media content to multiple users. More specifically, one or more embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for distributing streaming media content among multiple users.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Advancements in computing devices and computing technology provide users with the ability to share user-generated media with other users. As such, users are increasingly capturing and sharing media using various computing devices. To illustrate, modern mobile devices enable users to capture media, such as pictures, videos, audio, and text. In addition to sharing pictures, videos, audio, and text, some conventional systems allow users to stream media content to other users. For example, the user can stream captured media to the others users via a media stream. Further, if a user is capturing live content, the user can share a media stream with the live content with the other users. For example, a user can share user-generated media with a group of friends via a variety of communication systems (e.g., IM, text, or social networks).
Despite advances in technology, a number of drawbacks remain for a user wanting to share user-generated media with other users. For example, conventional systems do not distribute or share videos in an intuitive and efficient manner. Thus, when a user wants to share user-generated streaming media, conventional systems statically distribute the user-generated streaming media to only viewing users chosen by the user. Further, when multiple users are capturing user-generated media streams of the same event (e.g., a concert), conventional systems stream each media stream separately, resulting in a multiple unrelated media streams that are difficult for viewing users to navigate, locate, and enjoy as related media streams of the same event.
From the perspective of viewing users, many conventional systems do not account for the interests of the viewing users, and thus, a viewing user may have to navigate through several media streams trying to find a stream that is of interest to the recipient user, which is time consuming and frustrating. For example, when a viewing user wants to switch between two media streams of the same event, the viewing user may have to perform numerous navigational steps to relocate the other media stream. In addition, when the content within the media streams is live, the viewing user misses much of the live content spending time navigating through several media streams to locate a desired media stream.
Along similar lines, in many conventional systems, often users share user-generated streaming media irrespective of the quality or nature of the user-generated streaming media being shared. As a result, conventional systems often provide poor quality user-generated media streams to viewing users, resulting in a poor viewing experience. For example, conventional systems often provide user-generated media that includes shaky video and/or long tedious pauses. Moreover, because conventional systems do not distinguish between good quality or poor quality media streams, viewing users are often have to watch portions of poor quality or tedious media streams while navigating through various user-generated media streams to find a quality media stream.
As an additional problem, conventional systems do not provide a viewing user the ability to easily control the viewing experience of the user-generated streaming media. For example, most conventional systems simply provide a viewing user the user-generated media stream without allowing the viewing user to pause, replay, or otherwise navigate within the user-generated media stream. As a result, in conventional systems, a viewing user that joins a live user-generated media stream of an event after the event has begun can only watch the event from the current media stream position forward, thus reducing the viewing user's ability to understand and experience the complete context of a user-generated media stream. Often, the inability of conventional systems to allow a viewing user to “catch up” to the live position of the user-generated media stream can frustrate the viewing user to the point of choosing to not experience any of the user-generated media stream.
Accordingly, there are a number of considerations to be made in improving a user experience in relation to producing, sharing, distributing, and consuming user-generated streaming media.